MEP Alfred Sant has called for a comprehensive, up to date and coordinated asylum policy as well as a common European policy on legal migration to the EU.

Speaking at the European Parliament, he called for effective vigilance at the EU frontiers saying a lot remained to be done in this field.

Countries at the frontiers, the former Prime Minister said, were not succeeding to cope with the problems on their own. Meanwhile, the common effort that has been undertaken in this regard was still insufficient.

He called for an asylum policy that in its formulation and implementation was comprehensive, up to date and well co-ordinated. Significant steps in this direction had been taken but again but a lot remained to be done especially by way of burden sharing.

Dr Sant said that in dealing with the movement of people moving to Europe, these factors had to be developed in step with each other for challenges that were leading significant numbers of people to move to be faced coherently.

“We need too to remain coherent with the values that constitute Europe,” he said.

Dr Sant said that in the framework of a European policy on legal migration, efforts to exercise vigilance at the frontiers and to regulate the granting of asylum would become more effective.

Dr Sant said that such a policy had to satisfy the demands for more workers in certain member states and reflect the different economic requirements of others.

It would be able to channel the demand for economic migration coming from outside the Union and help to calibrate policies to exercise vigilance at frontiers. It would offer a rational and humane approach to the huge personal problems created by any form of mass migration.